What is it about?
Over 18 years, very few Veterans with PTSD who were eligible for routine, age-based re-evaluations left the VA disability rolls. Of those that did, many had their benefits restored later.
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Why is it important?
Legally, the VA must conduct these re-evaluations. In 2017, about 43% of the PTSD disability evaluation workload was related to re-evaluations. These re-evaluations take time and resources; they can also be upsetting and disruptive to Veterans. Perhaps the re-evaluation policies could be re-visited by Congress to become more cost-effective and evidence-based.
Perspectives
Although we had to wait 18 years to get to this point, this is a fairly simple, descriptive paper. I believe it shows how even simple study designs can deliver important, policy-relevant information. I was so lucky to work with some of the most knowledgeable researchers in this field on this paper. I would love to see more people work in this area
Dr. Maureen Murdoch
Minneapolis VA Health Care System
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Changes in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Service Connection Among Veterans Under Age 55: An 18-Year Ecological Cohort Study, Military Medicine, April 2019, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usz052.
You can read the full text:
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